Monday, December 06, 2010

Here is a small collection of TV show titles that include a credit for the pet. I decided, when I was many an eight year old television consumer, that any TV show that included a credit for the family dog was cool.

I've kept a note of what shows credited animals in the back of my mind. I was surprised that sometimes I've remembered wrong. For instance, Darwin the dolphin from SEAQUEST DSV, gets a credit for the first season only.

Ditto Dagget!

I always thought that Muffit the Dagget (for the uninitiated: a monkey in a fur/plastic 'cyborg" costume) from the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA had a credit. He doesn't. You only see the back of him as "Noah Hathaway's" credit appears.

SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH includes a credit for Nick Bakay, who voiced "Salem the cat" in the show, but most of the time the cat was a puppet. That's a no no, so that doesn't count.

And the big James Thurber dog in MY WORLD AND WELCOME TO IT, while the focus of the opening, is not credited. Below, after the 90 second teaser, are the titles and you can see what I mean:

Okay, here are the top contenders -- the cool TV openings that include the family pet. Please feel free to note any omissions:

Ladadog from PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES

Lord Nelson from THE DORIS DAY SHOW

Scruffy from THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR

The winner: THE THIN MAN TV series, which starred Peter Lawford as Nick and Phyllis Kirk as Nora. Asta the dog gets third billing. The highest ranking billing I've seen!